CARNATION
Author: Yumari

Disclaimer: Taiho Shichauzo! (You're Under Arrest!) © Fujishima Kosuke, Kodansha, Studio Deen, TOEI, Bandai Visual, and everyone else involved in the creation of this wonderful, wonderful anime/manga series. No infringment intended. No profit gained.

Chapter 1

A tanned man leaned back against the driver's seat as he waited for the the traffic light to go green. The LCD clock on the car's radio panel read 11:32, roughly seven hours and thirty minutes before he has to go to work the next day. Subtract from that the amount of time he'd be spending driving home tonight, the time needed to get prepared for work the following day (which starts at eight-thirty - seven for him, since he wants to make sure that he sets a good example when it comes to punctuality), and the 30-minute drive back to Bokuto Station, and he's left with not more than four hours of sleep. He silently cursed. He hasn't had any decent amount of sleep these past few days. When he was younger, he didn't really mind even if he just had two hours or less, but now that he's older, and certainly not getting any younger, the stress naturally got to him.

Of course, that is not to say that he doesn't love his line of work anymore. He might be behind his desk most of the time doing paperwork, and complain about it every now and then, but he can honestly say that he enjoyed every bit of it. And when he has a group of enthusiastic, dedicated and kind officers in his Department, just how in the world can he not love his job?

But then again, it was also thanks to those very same officers that he now has a brewing headache.

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"Come on Kachou! We've all gone through a lot together, why are you being so secretive after all this time?" Whoever said that again?

Tsujimoto?

Ah, yeah. If he remembered correctly, she didn't even say it - she shouted it! With a matching banging of her fist on his table. Kachou sighed. Really, is his love life such an important matter to them?

"Maa... There's really nothing to say," he had said to her, waving his hand to dismiss any further inquiries about his nonexistent love life. But the girl was persistent, and wouldn't let him off the hook easily. And there was Nikaido, too. He inwardly groaned. What did he say about having enthusiastic officers again? It really is good that everyone in the Traffic Control Department is full of energy, but at that very moment, he wished they would direct more of their energies somewhere else. Like on the preparations they were making for the upcoming Bokuto Festival, which their section is oh-so-kindly sponsoring. After all, that's the reason why they were all cooped up inside the office beyond regular work hours in the first place.

"Really, Kachou. It's okay, you can tell us," the bespectacled officer prodded with an ecstatic look in her eyes.

"But you've asked me this quite a few times before. Really, Nikaido. Tsujimoto. There's nothing to say about it." His tone had a tinge of finality in it, and he silently hoped that the two would finally drop the topic. Or if they don't, then he hoped that they at least find another victim.

"You should give it up already, Natsumi-senpai, Yoriko-senpai," Saga said from the other side of the room. Kachou praised the heavens that the little lady still hadn't changed much from being the strict, highly-idealistic officer she had been when she was just starting out.

"I agree, you guys have tortured the chief enough," Kobayakawa added without looking up from what she was writing.

Turning to them, Kachou expressed his utmost gratitude. The he went back to look at Tsujimoto and Nikaido, and gave them an uneasy smile. "Now, now, Tsujimoto, Nikaido, I think we should hurry up on this so we could all go home already."

Dejected, Nikaido resumed her work on the paper flowers while Tsujimoto let herself fall unceremoniously on her chair. "You know what, I have a theory," she started, not quite giving up yet.

"Oh?" Came her partner's surprised reply. "Theory for what?"

From his papers, Kachou saw Tsujimoto lean closer to Miyuki and heard her say: "For why Kachou won't say anthing about his love life." He didn't know if she was already whispering at that rate or was just trying to making it seem like she was whispering but is in reality wanting him hear all of it. Apparently, it was the former, so whatever she said to her partner afterwards eluded his ears.

There she goes again! Kachou thought with a sigh. Well, let them be.

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He tapped his finger impatiently on the steering wheel. The traffic light hasn't gone green yet, and he was already itching to get home, have a nice, relaxing bath, and finally, a good night's sleep (most likely it'd be already morning when he gets home, though) even if only for a few hours.

Getting bored, he turned the stereo on. A mellow music instantly flooded the car's interior, the sound of a woman's voice singing about love filling his senses. Kachou raised an eyebrow. Love again? My, my, but Valentine's Day is still two weeks away.

Then it dawned on him.

So that's why everybody was suddenly so interested in his love life - AGAIN! He suddenly remembered, albeit vaguely, when the male officers asked if there was anyone he'd be giving chocolates or flowers to for last year's White Day. Of course, his response was still the same. There was no one for him to give anything to, and they all responded by giving him sorry looks.

Really, those guys can be so troublesome sometimes.

It wasn't as if his love life's a great big zero. Once upon a time he had fallen in love with a beautiful, intelligent woman. But he knew from the very beginning that it was a love that is doomed to never bloom, so whatever he felt for her, he just buried it deep within the recesses of his heart.

She is younger than him, but she acts a lot older than him most of the time. She is confidence and hardwork personified, so it didn't really come as a surprise when she became what she is right now. If he thought about it, she seemed so unreachable, so high up there... However, he knew that deep down, she was just as fragile as everybody else.

And now, thinking about her, he couldn't help but feel a little pained. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her back then, wanted so much to hold her close to him... But she was much of a career person. He didn't want to get in between her and what she loves doing. Moreover, he didn't know if he'd be able to handle it if she rejects him, especially not when they work together every now and then. He'd rather keep everything to himself than jeopardize their good relationship.

The traffic light turned green.

Glad that the wait's finally over, he put his thoughts on hold, and pulled at the clutch. However, before his car could even move an inch, a yellow car suddenly sped out of nowhere, with a familiar black sedan following suit.

The hell! A sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins as he watched the two cars race ahead of him. "What in the world's going on here?" he thought out loud, the surprise not quite ready to leave his eyes yet.

Well, there's only one way to find out.

Forgetting about his earlier plans for a nice bath and a goodnight's sleep, he started after them.

- Tsuzuku -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: You have just read the THIRD revision for this chapter. I still wasn't too happy about the changes I made the last time, so... Yeah. Here's a newer and better (I hope) version of the first chapter... Tell me what you think, ok?

White Day - St. Valentine's Day in Japan is a day when women give the special men in their lives boxes of chocolate. To balance out the one-sidedness of this practice, White Day was invented for men to reciprocate such gifts. While Valentine's Day is an imported convention, White Day (on March 14) is a purely Japanese creation. (Source: Web Japan)